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Class Guide: BIO 484 - Methods in Biological Research
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Objective: To understand and employ effective information gathering techniques:

If you need help completing the assignment following this session, please feel free to contact me. I'm here to help you and I enjoy doing it. My contact information is below:

Peter Fritzler
Phone: 910 - 962 - 7807
FAX: 910 - 962 - 3078 
Email: fritzlerp@uncw.edu
AOL Instant Messenger: peterfritzler1 (9:00am - 5:00pm) CMS Office Hours:
Mondays, 2-4:00pm (beginning September 13, 2004)

Approximately 95% of the cited literature in the biological sciences is from the primary literature, which report original research and are the first published record of scientific research.1

1. Schmidt, D., E.B. Davis, and P.F. Jacobs. (2002). Using the Biological Literature: A Practical Guide. 3rd ed, Rev. New York: Marcel Dekker.

Methods to finding articles:
  1. Identify the topic or question that you are addressing for your paper.

  2. Brainstorming: create a list of key words or buzzwords that relate to the topic. This is very helpful in focusing your topic and providing a framework for searching the databases.
    • Organism name (Genus species, popular name)
    • Method(s)
    • Noted scientists in your area of research
    • Geographic location
    • Consider using terms used in nomenclature/lexicon of the sciences (e.g. benthic, physiology, trophic, oxidation, polymorphism)
  1. Determine what resources are MOST likely include information on your topic and those that are most likely to INDEX article citations to articles on your topic:

     Databases (indexes) for Finding Articles:
    • Agricola - Compiled by the National Agricultural Library of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Agricola is the most comprehensive database to citations of journal articles, theses, patents, software and technical reports on all aspects of agriculture and allied disciplines, including plant and animal sciences, forestry, entomology, soil and water resources, and food and nutrition. (1979-current).
    • Biological Abstracts  - both the electronic (1969-present) and print editions (1926-1996) are available via Randall Library. Biological Abstracts (BA) is the most comprehensive index for worldwide journal literature in the life sciences and is also the most important index to biologists. Please see the BA Fact Sheet for more information or the Guide to Using Biological Abstracts for more information on using this database.
    • Aquatic Sciences and Fisheries Abstracts (ASFA) - via Randall Library's subscription to the Cambridge Scientific Abstracts suite of databases. ASFA is a premier reference database for citations and abstracts of the world's literature dealing with the science, technology and management of marine, freshwater and brackish water environments and organisms. This source combines three major files that cover the biological sciences and living resources; ocean technology, policy and non-living resources, and aquatic pollution and environmental quality. Two specialized files are also included, which are aquaculture and marine biotechnology. The complete ASFA database provides the most comprehensive coverage; if preferred, the five, more focused files that comprise this unique database are also available as separate databases.
    • PLANTS Database - single source of standardized information about plants. This database focuses on vascular plants, mosses, liverworts, hornworts, and lichens of the U.S. and its territories. The PLANTS Database includes names, checklists, automated tools, identification information, species abstracts, distributional data, crop information, plant symbols, plant growth data, plant materials information, plant links, references, and other plant information. Also includes States PLANTS list.

    • PubMed - free database developed by the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) at the National Library of Medicine, PubMED is the most comprehensive biomedical research database available. It provides access to 12 million citations and additional life science journals published in the US and 70 foreign countries published from 1951 to the present. PubMed includes links to many sites providing full text articles and other related resources.
      The NLM Gateway allows users to search in multiple retrieval systems at the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM). The current Gateway searches MEDLINE/PubMed, OLDMEDLINE, TOXLINE Special, LocatorPlus, MedlinePlus, ClinicalTrials.gov, DIRLINE, Genetics Home Reference, Meeting Abstracts, HSRProj, OMIM, and HSDB. See the Overview for details.
    • Zoological Record (ZR) - oldest continuing database of animal biology (1864-present), ZR indexes every aspect of zoology including biochemistry, behavior, ecology, evolution, genetics, etc. ZR indexes over 4,500 international serials, and includes approximately 1,500 non-serial publications (i.e. professional journals, magazines, newsletters, monographs, books, reviews, and conference proceedings). ZR is published by BIOSIS and the Zoological Society of London. The online version only searches 1978 to the present. See the ZR Fact Sheet for more information. 

  2. These databases are all citation-based. They do NOT include the full-text of the articles. These are stand-alone indexes identifying literature that has been published on your topic. This means that Randall Library may or may not have access to a particular journal article you found in the databases.

  3. What if the Library doesn't own the journal?  Use Randall Library' Interlibrary Loan service, and the library will order the article you need from another library. This is a free service for students, faculty, and staff at UNCW. You do not need to know what library owns the journal that you need. Simply give us the citation and we'll obtain the article for you.
  1. Websites and other resources (BOOKS!) can be good to use for background and introductory information.
    Last Update: December 12, 2005

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